Helmets



y 28, 1957 J. L. KLEINMAN 2,793,365

HELMETS Filed Feb. 20. 1953 IN V EN TOR.

)MA/EW United States Patent HELMETS Jacob L. Kleinman, Arverne, N. Y. Application February 20, 1953, Serial No. 338,090

14 Claims. (Cl. 23)

This invention relates to the construction of helmets in general, and more particularly to a type known as football helmets, and is constructed in a manner wherein the crown-section thereof is secured to the base-unit of the helmet in. a manner whereby such crown-section is spaced away from the base-unit and is provided with means adapted to check the. effect of shock caused by a blow upon the crown-section thereby minimizing possible injuries to the wearer.

My novel construction. is capable of being utilized in connection with various types of helmets, for example; army helmets; navy helmets, marine helmets, aviation helmets, football helmets, workmens helmets, miners helmets and helmets for various other purposes.

In accordance with my invention, I produce a helmet comprising an individual base-unit and an individual crown-section wherein an outer strip and an inner strip of pliable impermeable material, for example, such as plastic, leather or the kind, circle the helmet structure and are secured to the end portions of the. base: unit and of the crown-section in amanner connecting such crownsection to the base-unit and holding such end port-ions spaced. away from each other, and wherein such strips provide resilient rebouncing and absorbing means adapted to check or disrupt the flow, motion or movement, of shock produced by blows received by the crown-section while in use.

There is, therefore, thus produced, in accordance. with my invention, a. helmet comprising a base unit and a crown-section provided with. resilient rebouncing means adapted to check and absorb the shock of a. blow or knock thereby minimizing possible injuries to the wearer.

To illustrate the ordinary commercial. utility of my helmet in daily life, ahelmet constructed. in accordance with my invention, of whatever style or type it may be. made, could be utilized to great advantage, For. the purpose of explaining my invention the following. may be said: It. is a well known fact, that the present type; of helmets consists of a skull made of hard material, such. as: fiber, bakelite, plastic or metal, and; is provided with anintegral base portion wherein the inner face thereof is provided with a padding, such padding is adapted to. fit snugly around theface and around the lower rear portion of the wearers head, the strap which is positioned under the wearers chin draws the side portions. of such padded base portion snugly against the face. of the wearer, the. inner upper portion of the crown is. provided with an element adapted to cushion the top portion of the'wearers head. against. blows which may be. received by the crown. Such helmet structure. has been designed for the. purpose of protectingv the wearers head againstv injuries, but, in reality such helmet structure does not fully accomplish. its purpose, because, although the upper section of such. helmet is keptv away by the said element from direct contact with the upper portion of the wearershead, yet, because the shock. of the blow received by the; crown. travels into the portion fitting snugly against'the. wearers "ice face such shock effects the wearers head to a great extent. So that while the extreme upper portion of the wearers head may, to some extent, be protected against a direct hit or blow, yet the head as a whole is not at all protected against the effect of such a hit or blow, which may prove fatal to the wearer.

My structure however completely eliminates such hazardous occurrences; the fact that the lower end portion of my crown-section is: not in direct contact with the upper end portion of the base unit but is secured or connected thereto by resilient members, in. a. manner whereby such end portions face each other and are spaced away from each other and form an air cushioning compartment. at such connecting point, particularly so if the resilient members are connected to each other longitudinally at their central portions in a manner forming two separate compartments one for each of the facing end. portions,

l poses the following may be said; the present type of helmets, which; are made tohold av face protector, are so constructed that the face protector is attached directly to the front portion of the hehnet, so that when an object hits the face protector the shock produced by such hit travels directly to the wearers. head, causing occasionally hazardous afteretfects. Efforts have been made to reduce the effect Of. such shock by padding the front portion of the helmet, but such a structure does not prevent the travel or transfer of the shock from the protector to the portion of the helmet fitting snugly against the wearers face and therefore affords no protection to the wearers head.

But my invention solves the above problem and minimizes. greatly possible hazardous occurrences by cutting off the power of shock and its effect before reaching the wearers face. The fact that in my novel structure the face. protector is not secured directly to the base portion of the helmet but is carried by individual sections, which in turn are secured or connected to the base portion by pliable or resilient strips in a manner forming air cushioning chambers between such sections and the base portions, will, naturally, cause such protectors to vibrate upon the said pliable or resilient strips when struck by an object, thereby cutting the speed of the shock at such cushioning point and check the travel of the shock before it can reach the base portion of the helmet, thereby greatly minimizing'; possibility of injuries, particularly so if such strips are connected to each other longitudinally at their center portion for. a purpose as hereinabove explained.

With respect to the above the following may be pointed out. Face protectors are usually secured permanently to the helmets and cannot be. readily or easily removed nor attached, so that in case. of damage to the protector, or if desired to replace the protector with a different style or shape, the average person is compelled to resort to the service of professional tradesmen, which is of course quite expensive. Whereas with my novel structure the helmet is provided with means permitting instant removal or replacement of the face protector even by unskilled persons, thereby enabling the player to use his helmet for various desired purposes, with or without theface protector, without any additional expense or loss of time.

There is,.therefore, thus. produced, in accordance with my invention, a helmet that is fully shockproof and, therefore, reduces the possibilities of injuries to the wearer to a minimum, it is therefore believed that a helmet constructed in accordance with my invention will provide satisfaction, safety and comfort to the user, and will become an indispensable item with the average player and thus prove quite valuable commercially.

The variety of possible applications of my novel construction in connection with different types of helmets, as hereinabove indicated, is so prolific that for the purpose of illustrating the invention the specific embodiment of my invention in its application to a helmet exhibiting the greatest difficulties has been selected. Such a helmet is one which necessarily must conform most rigidly to the contours of the head and face of the wearer and one which has the field of greatest possible commercial use. For this purpose I have selected for illustration of my novel construction, a helmet of the type constituting a football helmet, so that the principles of construction may best be illustrated in a head protective structure known as helmets.

The objects of the present invention are attained by a novel construction which will be hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawing in connection with a specific embodiment of the invention.

' In the accompanying drawing in which such specific embodiment of my invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a helmet constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental view showing part of the inner structure of my helmet.

Fig. 4 is a fragmenta-l view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the anchoring means for the face protector.

Fig. 6 is a view of the face protector, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the element for locking the face protector in position upon the helmet.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which similar reference characters identify similar parts in the several views in my novel helmet.

Arrow A indicates a completely finished helmet, in assembled form, made in accordance with my invention. Such helmet may be made of any desirable material, for example, leather, plastic, metal or a combination of these or any other suitable material, and may be shaped, pressed, molded, formed or machined into any suitable style, in a manner as may be deemed advisable by those skilled in the art of making such helmets, or as may be required by the commercial demand of the industry.

B indicates the base-unit and C indicates the crownsection, 5 indicates the outer strip and 6 indicates the inner strip. These strips are made of yieldable impermeable material, for example, such as plastic, leather or the kind, and are secured to the upper end portion 7 of the base-unit B by suitable means, for example, stitchings 8 formed by threads 8' and to the lower end portion 9 of the crown-section C by similar suitable means, for example, stitchings 11 formed by threads 11 thus connecting said crown-section C to the base-unit B. These two strips 5 and 6 form resilient elements holding the two end portions 7 and 9 spaced away from each other, as shown by numeral 12, to an extent providing a circumferential air chamber 14, disposed horizontally of the helmet, adapted to cushion the vibration or movement of the crown-section C and check the travel of shock (note, the end portion 15 of strip 5 is shown flared away to show the space 12). Thus it will be seen, that when the crown-section C should receive a blow the pliable strips 5 and 6 will then give or yield to an extent permitting such crown-section to move and rebound the effect of such blow and cut the travel of shock before reaching the base-unit B.

If desired, the strips 5 and 6 may be joined to each other longitudinally by suitable means, for example, stitchings 16, in a manner providing a centrally located circumferential partition as indicated by arrow 18, forming two individual air chambers 21 and 22, so that the end portions 7 and 9 could each be positioned in a sepa rate completely-closed air chamber and thus be positively prevented or stopped from touching each other during the movement of the crown-section. This form of structure will control the resiliency and regulate the spring action of the pliable strips 5 and 6 thereby facilitating the rebounding movement of the crown-section.

Although I show the circumferential air chamber being formed by an outer strip 5 and an inner strip 6 (see broken section E, Fig. 1, also Fig. 3) yet it is naturally understood that various other suitable means may be utilized in order to achieve the same or similar function, the disclosures herein are for illustrative purposes only and not for limitations.

The inner structure of the helmet (Fig. 3) includes the usual padding P and the usual head net N. It will be noted that the tape strips T of the inner net N are secured directly to the base-portion B, as shown by numeral 24, this form of structure leaves the crown-section completely free to move during rebounding action without touching the wearers head.

The front portions F are each provided with an extension or auxiliary member E. The forehead 31 and the auxiliary members E are each provided with an anchoring member 32 for receiving lugs 33 of a face protector 34. These anchoring members 32 may be secured to their respective places by any suitable means, for example, screws or lacing through the openings 37 thereby facilitating the removal or replacement of same. The lugs 33 are provided with screwthreaded end portions 35 adapted to receive the screw-threaded member N. So that when it is desired to attach the face protector to the helmet, the lugs 33 are placed within the openings 36 of the anchoring members 32, and the members M are then applied to the screw-threaded portions 35 thus holding the face protector secured in desired position. And when it is desired to remove the face protector from the helmet all that has to be done is to unscrew the members M from the screw-threaded portions 35 and then remove the lug portions 33 from the openings 36 of the anchoring members 32. It can thus be seen that even an unskilled layman can easily operate my herein explained invention, that is, to attach or remove my face protector at will with considerable ease.

The auxiliary members E are attached or connected to the front portions F by pliable elements 41 and 42 (see Fig. 4) secured thereto by suitable means, for example, stitchings 43, and to the fore-head 31 by similar suitable means. It will be noted, by the broken portion indicated by arrow D, that the end portions 44 of the auxiliary members E are spaced away from the end portions 45 of the front portions F for the purpose of providing space to form air chambers S to facilitate the resilient movements of the pliable members 41 and 42, so that when the face protector 34 should receive a blow, the pliable elements 41 and 42 will then give or spring to an extent whereby the auxiliary members E will move and rebound the effect of such blow and cut the travel of shock before reaching the front portions F, thereby minimizing possible injuries to the wearers face.

If desired, the pliable elements 41 and 42 may be joined to each other longitudinally by suitable means, for example stitchings 46, in a manner providing a centrally located longitudinal partition as indicated by arrow 47 in a manner forming two individual air chambers 48 and 49, so that the end portions 44 and 45 may each be positioned in a separate completely-closed air chamber thereby being unable to touch each other during the rebounding movement of the auxiliary members F. This form of structure will control the resiliency and regulate the spring action of such members F.

The upper portions of the auxiliary. membersE are. secured to the forehead portion 31 of the helmet for stability purposes. But if desired, these auxiliary members. B may be secured only to the front portions- F, or to the outer faces of such front portions F. I desireit to be understood that the disclosures herein are for illustrative purposes only and not for limitations.

If desired, the forehead 31, or any suitable portion of the helmet, may be provided withan element (not shown) adaptedtoshield the eyes of the player, or wearer, against glaring lights or for various other suitable purposes. Such element may be made of suitable material and of desirable color. The same is true with respect to the above-mentioned face protector which may be made of any desirable material, in any suitable style or shape, and secured to the helmet. in. any desirablemanner.

I desire it to be understood, that. the disclosures herein. are for illustrative purposes only and not for limitation purposes, and that various forms, shapes, or. styles of structure may be resorted to for the: purpose of. obtaining the desired results, and that. I.have samein. mind, and that various materials may be. utilized to. obtain desired results as taught by the herein. disclosure.

From the above it will be seen. that I. have invented and perfected a. helmet. structure of. anew and. unique design, containing features which: are novel, useful and practical, and: provide a maximum. degree of safety to the user and is therefore of commercial value, and although I have shown certain. preferred forms or. illustrations in order to explain. and. describe the novelty of my invention, yet, by showingsuch. structure, I. do not, by any means, limit myself. to these structures, nor to the terms used in describing. same, as they are for illustrative purposes only. Various suggestions and changes of structure may be resorted to, and: I desire it to be understood that I have same in mind when showing and describing this invention, and. seek. protection by Letters Patent. And, although I: have mentioned in describing this' invention of What material certain parts may be made, how they may be formed, shapedor styled and how they may be assembled, yet I desire itv to be understood that this structure, or parts thereof, may be madeof any suitable material, and shaped, formed, styled or arranged in any desirable manner, and assembled in any convenient way so that the parts may be easily taken apart, removed, cleaned, replaced and reassembled, and that various changes in detail may be resortedv to without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and a pair of pliable strips, said base-unit and crown-section and pliable strips made of impermeable material, said base-unit. adapted to encompass the lower sides and back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving. the wearers face and having a straight upper edge portion, said crown-section having a straight lower edge portion, said edge portions facing each other, one of said strips secured to the outer faces of said base-unit and the said crown-section and the other of said strips securedv to the inner faces of said base-unit and the said crown-section, said pair of pliable strips extending circumferentially along the line of said edge portions holding said facing edge portions spaced away from each other and forming a circumferential air chamber thereb'et'ween, said air chamber in combination with the said pliable strips forming resilient means for cushioning the movements of said crown section, and means carried by the said baseunit for securing the said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

2'. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and separate crown-section and two pliable strips, said baseunit and crown-section and pliable strips made of impermeable material, said base-unit adapted to encompass. the lower sides and back portion. of. the: wearers head and having, an openfront portion for receiving the wearers face and' having, a straight upper edge portion, said crown-section having. a lower straight edge portion, said edge portions facing each other, one of said two strips secured to the inner faces of the said base-unit and of the said crown-section. along the length of said edge portions and the other of said two strips secured to the outer faces of the said base-unit. and of said crownsection along the length of said edge. portions, said strips extending circumferentially at a. horizontal plane with respect to the height of the helmet along the line of said. edge portions holding said facing edge portions spaced away from each other forming a tubular air chamber therebetween, said. strips forming resilient wall portions, said air chamber in combination. with. the said resilient wall. portions forming means for. rebounding the movements of said crown-section, and means carried by the said base-unit for holding said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

3-. Ahelmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and pliable members, said. base-unit and crown-section and pliable members made of impermeable material, said base-unit adapted to encompass the lower sides and backportion of the wearers head and having an openfront portion for receiving the wearers face and having: an upper open edge portion, said crownsection having a lower edge portion, said edge portions facing each other, one of. said pliable members secured to the inner faces of saidupper and lower edge portions and another of said pliable members secured to the outer faces of said upper andlower edge portions, said pliable members extending circumferentially along the line. of said edge portions forming inner and outer resilient Wall portions holding said edge portions spaced away from each other and providing a circumferential air chamber along the length of said edge portions, a row of stitches formed at about the longitudinal center portion of the said pliable members connecting. the said wall portions to each other providing a partition between the said two edge portions for avoiding direct contact between. the said two facing. edge portions, and means carried by the saidbase-unit for holding said helmet indesired position about the wearers head.

4.. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and pliable strips, said base-unit and crown-section and pliable. strips made of impermeable material, said base-unit shaped to encompass the lower sides and back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion. for receiving the wearers face and having an upper free edge portion, said crown-section having a lower free edge portion, said edge portions facing: each other, one of said strips secured to the outer faces of the said base-unit and said crown-section and another ofv saidstrips secured to the inner faces of said base-unit and the said crown-section, said strips extend ingv cireumferentiall'y along. the lineof said edge portions and. secured. to the said faces by lines of stitching positioned. along the length of said" strips and the said edge portions, said' strips forming resilient wall portions holding the said facing edge portions spaced away from each other in a manner providing a circumferential air chamber therebetween, said air chamber in combination with the said resilient wall portions forming means for rebounding the movements of said crown-section, and means carried by the said base-unit for securing the said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

5'. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a sepa rate crown-section and pliable strips and a net structure, said base-unit and crown-section and pliable strips made of impermeable material, said base-unit adapted to encompass the lower sides and back portions of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving the wearers face and having an upper edge portion, said crown section having a lower edge portion, said edge portions facing each other, one of said'strips secured to the inner faces of said upper and lower edge portions and another of said strips secured to the outer faces of said upper and lower edge portions, said net structure positioned within the said crown-section, the lower end portion of said net structure secured to the upper portion of the said base-unit, said net structure adapted to be positioned upon the wearers head, said pliable strips extending circumferentially along the line of said edge portions holding the said facing edge portions spaced away from each other in a manner holding the said crown-section spaced away from the said net structure thereby preventing direct contact between the said crown-section and the wearers head during vibration of the pliable strips when such crown-section is rebounding the effect of shock, and means carried by the said base-unit for holding said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

6. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and a pliable connecting element located between the said base-unit and said crown-section, said base-unit and crown-section and the said element made of impermeable material, said base-unit adapted to encompass the lower sides and back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving the wearers face and having an upper edge portion, said crown section having a lower edge portion, said edge portions facing each other, said element comprising a center portion and two upper wall portions and two lower wall portions, said two upper wall portions secured to the inner and outer faces of the said edge portion of said crown-section and the said two lower wall portions secured to the inner and outer faces of the said edge portion of said base-unit, said wall portions holding the said facing edge portions spaced away from said center portion of the said element, said center portion forming a partition between the said facing edge portions preventing direct contact therebetween, said element extending circumferentially along the line of said edge portions at a horizontal plane with respect to the height of the helmet forming circumferential air chambers between the said wall portion and the said edge portions and the said center portion, the said wall portions being yieldable and in combination with the said air chambers such wall portions form resilient means for rebounding the movements of said crown-section, and means carried by the said baseunit for securing said helmet in position about the wearers head.

7. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and a pliable connecting element located therebetween, said base-unit and crown-section and connecting element made of impermeable material, said base-unit adapted to encompass the lower sides and back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving the wearers face and having an upper edge portion, said crown section having a lower edge portion, said edge portions facing each other, said element comprising two strips connected to each other at about their longitudinal center portions forming two upper separate wall portions and two lower separate wall portions, said two lower wall portions covering the edge portion of the said base-unit and secured thereto and said two upper wall portions covering the edge portion of the said crown section, and secured thereto, said connecting element extending circumferentially along the line of said edge portions at a horizontal plane with respect to the height of said helmet holding the said edge portions separated from each other and providing each of such edge portions with a separate compartment, the said wall portions being yieldable forming resilient means for rebounding the movements of said crown-section, and means carried by the said base-unit for securing said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

' 8. -A structure as defined in claim 7, wherein the said two strips are connected to each other by means of a row of stitching along their longitudinal center portions and wherein the said wall portions are secured to the inner and outer faces of said base-unit and said crown-section by rows of stitchings along the line of length of the said wall portions and of the said edge portions.

9. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and a pliable connection therebetween, said base-unit and crown-section and pliable connection comprising impermeable material, said baseunit adapted to encompass the lower sides and back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving the wearers face and also having an upper edge portion, said crown-section having a lower edge portion, said edge portions situated opposite each other, each of said edge portions having inner and outer wall faces, said pliable connection extending circumferentially along the line of said edge portions and associated with the said inner and outer wall faces covering and holding the said edge portions spaced away from each other forming an air chamber therebetween and providing resilient means for rebounding the movements of said crown-section, and means carried by the said base-unit for securing said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

10. A helmet comprising a separate base-unit and a separate crown-section and a pliable connection therebetween, said base-unit and crown-section and pliable connection comprising impermeable material, said baseunit adapted to encompass the lower sides and back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving the wearers face and having an upper edge portion, said crown-section having a lower edge portion, said edge portions situated opposite one another, said pliable connection associated with the inner and outer faces of said base-unit and said crown-section adjacent to the said edge portions holding such edge portions spaced away from each other, said pliable connection extending circumferentially along the length of said edge portions at a horizontal plane with respect to the height of such helmet, said pliable connection forming resilient means for rebounding the movements of said crown-section, an auxiliary member and a pliable element, said auxiliary member and pliable element made of impermeable material, said pliable element securing the said auxiliary member to the said front portion of the said base-unit holding such auxiliary member in spaced relation therewith, and means carried by said base-unit for securing said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

11. A structure as defined in claim 10, wherein the said pliable element forms resilient means for rebounding the movements of said auxiliary member.

12. A helmet comprising a base-unit having a crown section and a separate auxiliary member and a pliable element, said helmet and auxiliary member and pliable element made of impermeable material, said base-unit adapted to encompass the lower sides and the back portion of the wearers head and having an open front portion for receiving the wearers face, said pliable element securing the said separate auxiliary member to the said front portion holding such auxiliary member in spaced relation with respect to such front portion, said pliable element located between the said front portion and the said auxiliary member forming resilient means to rebound the movements of the said auxiliary member, and means carried by the said base-unit for securing said helmet in desired position about the wearers head.

13. A structure as defined in claim 12, wherein the said auxiliary member is provided with means to support a face protector.

14. A structure as defined in claim 12, wherein the said auxiliary member is provided with means to support a removable face protector.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pierce Oct. 3, 1916 Weis June 18, 1918 I-Iildreth July 17, 1923 Mullins Jan. 15, 1929 10 McMillan Jan. 18, 1938 Mulvey Mar. 14, 1939 Riddell July 22, 1941 Hollingsworth Apr. 28, 1942 Riddell et a1 Aug. 18, 1942 Kleinman Feb. 24, 1953 

